HoneyBadger
Rising Sun Member
Yep.
It literally hurts my soul every day that I can't do a SAS... Just saying.
Adventures in 4Runner'ing
- Thread starter DouglasVB
- Start date
It literally hurts my soul every day that I can't do a SAS... Just saying.
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
Rooooooof raaaaaaack
I put the roof rack on tonight. It looks pretty sharp. It'll look better once I get some lights and antennas up there. I need to get some tennis balls or similar to put on the ends of the cross bars so I don't bonk my head into them.
I'm looking at lighting options now. Thinking of this light bar for up on the roof rack and these lights for down on the bumper.
I put the roof rack on tonight. It looks pretty sharp. It'll look better once I get some lights and antennas up there. I need to get some tennis balls or similar to put on the ends of the cross bars so I don't bonk my head into them.
I'm looking at lighting options now. Thinking of this light bar for up on the roof rack and these lights for down on the bumper.
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
Also I want to mount my axe and shovel (and maybe at least the long bar from the hi-lift jack) on the rack. Are there specific mounts that I should use or avoid? I want to keep whatever I mount up there to stay there for months/years at a time between uses.
HoneyBadger
Rising Sun Member
Sweet!
AxleIke
Hard Core 4+
LOL. Not that you'd want to, but I think you are having the exact same issue I was with my old truck. With the old one, on 33's, it didn't break, it didn't have issues, it was fun and I did all of the trails I wanted (like in the video).
Then I went to 35's and it fell apart, so I went to the SAS. And again, totally different situation, but for me, it was so much money that I ended up having to part things out because it wasn't ever going to get finished. I think I was into it maybe 8k by the time I quit. I was able to sell the bits and make back most of it, but thats not everyones situation for sure. There are of course much less expensive ways to do it.
I'm PMing you some more info.
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
Did you go with a MONSTER build? Now I'm nervous that my cost estimates are off...
AxleIke
Hard Core 4+
Not sure what you mean by monster. Mine was links front and rear, King coilovers up front (got those used), king shocks in back with some form of coil (never got to tuning it so I'm not sure). FJ80 axle up front to get the correct width, Hellfire knuckle system to get the FJ80 high steer, ARB with 4.88's in a high pinion diff, High angle driveline driveshaft with one of their good joints. I cut the frame off just in front of the front body mounts so that I could raise it up, to try to keep the frame height on 37's around 20-21", tires and wheels, etc, etc, etc.
What you have talked about in this thread, given you have an axle and a number of parts, won't be that bad.
You probably have 600 bucks in axles, up to a couple hundred in front end rebuild parts depending on how the bearings, seals, wipers, knuckles, etc are in the axle, and whether you go with Japanese (best) or Chinese (not the best) stuff to rebuild. You need high steer, which is about 400 bucks the last time I looked, buy maybe its less now.
so 1200 ish to get the axle up and running. Less if you use stock birfields, though you aren't gaining much strength over your CV's with those, if any. But you can certainly drop the cost there.
The diffs, from what you mentioned, will cost. ARB's are running 950 on average these days (some places cheaper some places more, and there are sales and things that come up). Gears I have seen as cheap as 200 a set, and I don't know on install kits (i'm thinking 100 bucks for that? Not sure there). And then you have to have them installed. Robbie put an ARB (no gear change) in my front for 300 bucks. The 8" diffs are much easier to install, but with the gear set up, that is probably a good number.
So, 1900 ish for the lockers, 400 for gears, 200 for the kits, and 600 in labor looks like 3100 bucks for diffs. I mention Robbie simply because he does absolutely excellent work, and he stands behind it, so any issues he takes care of you, and he is local. You may be able to order built diffs for less, though Marlin is 1650 per diff, so thats 3200 bucks, Trail Mart is 1521, so only slightly less, and you have shipping. Again, those are just estimates for the labor and kit costs, I have no idea on that. May be other places that are cheaper, but you also want to look at what they use for bearings and parts.
You also mentioned dual cases, which is smart since you have to have a new front driveline made for the SAS anyway, and that would increase the cost. However, could certainly be dropped to save money.
So, with an axle rebuild, steering, and the lockers/gears you talked about, assuming you can source the other parts from a yard or something, and if we round the diffs off to 3k, you are looking at 4300 bucks, if you include a respline for the front shaft to get the travel you need for the SAS. You also wanted to up your tires. Depending on what you go with, you could be at 1000-1500 ish (by the time you do taxes, mount, and balance. So 5300-5800.
My issue wasn't the big ticket items. Mine was the equivalent of the "nickel and dimed to death" syndrome. I don't recall where that saying came from, but it applied to my build. The difference was it was actually 50 and 100 dollaring me to death. I would have things like "crap I need hardware for the links, there's 75 bucks", "crap, I need my driveline extended, there's 100 bucks", crap I need new trunion bearings, there's some amount of money (forgot what those were". I got sick of it and decided to go back to basics with a 99 4runner.
Now, before people get all bent out of shape and say that I've DRASTICALLY overpriced things, I have put in this post the things I think are needed to put a leaf spring SAS under a truck and make it reliable, and significantly stronger than the IFS he has under his truck now. A stock solid axle, while providing a little more clearance and articulation, is about the same strength wise as IFS. The diff itself is a good bit stronger, but the stock birfs will blow up with a 33 about as often as a CV will, and the J arm steering is at best equally as strong as the pitman idler set up on the early IFS.
So, I'm not trying to dissuade you. I'm just putting up what I would do to make the truck reliable, and strong enough that I'm not always fixing my truck on the trail constantly. I also hate doing things over and over, and I believe that putting non-reliable stuff in a truck ends up costing more than just doing the initially more expensive reliable stuff, because that has been my experience. Everytime I've put a cheap part in my truck, its cost me more money and time in the long run than a reliable part from Toyota or wherever would have cost from the get go.
Not everyone has that experience.
You will need the steering, as you can't make the stock Solid axle steering work on your truck without a whole lot more effort. If you just cleaned up the axle, stuck with stock gears, cheap shocks from Napa, no lockers, you probably would be into the swap for maybe 1000 bucks accounting for various hardware, paint, brake lines, and things you can't do without. I only posted about the ARB's because you posted up that you were thinking of using them.
Either way, I think your plan is very feasible for this winter, and I look forward to when you start the cutting!!!!
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
Okay that's about what I've figured on price, too. Not that I want to spend that much money, but I want to have the benefits. I also only want to do it once and I don't want to have to constantly repair stuff on the trail. That's been one nice thing about this summer... no huge mechanical problems to overcome while on the trail.
I think what I really need to do now is to go through and make a detailed list of exactly what it is that I will purchase to finish this build out. And then perhaps I can track down used equivalents as I have so far with most of what I've collected. Used is good as long as there is plenty of life left in it.
I think what I really need to do now is to go through and make a detailed list of exactly what it is that I will purchase to finish this build out. And then perhaps I can track down used equivalents as I have so far with most of what I've collected. Used is good as long as there is plenty of life left in it.
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
I still need to figure out where I'm going to do the build and what welder I can get so my buddy can do the welding...
ScaldedDog
Hard Core 4+
This is one of the most helpful posts I've seen on a 4wheeling site. Nicely done, and spot on, including the cost estimates. The point about spending enough to not be fixing one's junk on the trail is a great one. It's one thing to break once in awhile and be "that guy" whose breaks delay or ruin everyone's day, and I've been "that guy". It's quite another to do things on the cheap and be known as "that guy", before a trip ever starts.
You may have mentioned it before (and if you have say so, and I'll go look), but what kind of wheeling do you want to do?
Mark
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
This is one of the most helpful posts I've seen on a 4wheeling site. Nicely done, and spot on, including the cost estimates. The point about spending enough to not be fixing one's junk on the trail is a great one. It's one thing to break once in awhile and be "that guy" whose breaks delay or ruin everyone's day, and I've been "that guy". It's quite another to do things on the cheap and be known as "that guy", before a trip ever starts.
You may have mentioned it before (and if you have say so, and I'll go look), but what kind of wheeling do you want to do?
Mark
I think I partially answered this before but it is very good to review my past answer and re-answer anew. Also there are a few hundred posts to wade through. A bit much!
I love to explore. Adventuring to new places and experiencing new things is what keeps me centered and happy. When I am cooped up inside and not seeing new things, it's pretty much the worst thing ever. This probably doesn't help much in saying what sort of wheeling I want to do.
Yes, I want to go do Blanca with the Big Boys at some point in the near future. Yes, I like driving over Boreas Pass. Yes, I want a more gentle ride where I don't bash my skid plates on every rock. No, I don't want to have to constantly be doing maintenance. No, I don't want breakdowns. No, I don't want to find myself in situations where if I had a better truck, I could go on to much more interesting views and experiences.
Things we've enjoyed this summer have been going up high for vistas, going through forests to camp in remote locations far from other people, going on group trail runs (including the more challenging stuff!), venturing long distances over pavement at highway speeds to get to some beautiful 4x4ing, and taking friends out in the back seats for some fun in the mountains.
Do I want to rock crawl? I don't know. I haven't really done it before. Maybe? Probably not that often.
Do I want to go on long multi-hundred mile 4x4 roads through the deserts and mountains? Heck yes!
Do I want to daily driver my rig? Not currently but possibly in the future. (Currently have a Subaru and two motorcycles for DD duties)
Do I want to put a bigger engine in my truck? Probably not for a few years. And then maybe I'll go with a diesel because I enjoy the idea of diesel engines (and the performance characteristics). Maaaaybe I'll put a 3.4L gas engine into it to be like the cool kids but currently that's not in the plans. I'm much more likely to put a 1.9L turbo diesel out of a VW into it or a similarly-sized diesel engine from Isuzu.
Do I like doing fun and hard technical projects to upgrade vehicles? I think THIS will answer that question.
The things I am afraid of with doing a SAS swap is: 1) I'll run out of money, 2) I will have poor quality welds and will have a major incident on the trail, 3) I won't be able to do the job in my garage, 4) my truck will be waaaaay beyond my technical abilities to drive. The things that I have done to ameliorate these concerns are: 1) I bought a rig much below what I saved up over the last several years (okay, about a decade) that allows me (I hope) enough to do a solid SAS swap build, 2) my buddy does robotic welding research and does the same at work and has agreed to help me out as much as he can. I also have a backup guy who has done welding on oil rigs but without real certifications. 3) This is going to be a problem... I'm rather concerned about this. 4) yeah this could be a problem. I've done something maybe one "rating" beyond Middle St Vrain and Coney Flats, and that was pretty difficult but I managed okay on my own. I suspect that I will "grow into" whatever I build.
Does that help a bit?
ScaldedDog
Hard Core 4+
Outstanding answer! Mind my $.02?
A lot - just about all - of what you want to do can be accomplished on an IFS 4Runner with 33-35" radial tires and part time lockers (e.g. ARB). You won't break much if you drive smart, which I'm guessing you do. A 4" IFS lift would be plenty, and can be installed by yourself in a weekend. The result is a very streetable, fairly low, rig that can go 99% of places. There are two downsides to IFS, IMHO:
I had an 88 truck - not 4Runner - setup this way, and loved it. I always wanted a 4Runner, though, and wanted to do harder things, so I bought my SAS'd 88 4Runner. Here's what I learned in that transition, if it helps you:
With regard to your concerns:
#1 - I'm no help here.
#2 - Possible, but not likely. MIG welding isn't hard, so if your friend is good at it, you're fine. Certifications mean nothing.
#3 - Not much help here, either. If we knew each other, I'd offer up my space for a day or weekend, but that's pretty ambitious for a SAS. Though our internet personas are witty and charming, that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to strangle each other in real life.
#4 - Highly unlikely. If you can ride a motorcycle without getting yourself killed, you can figure out wheeling pretty quick. There is a certain touch that good drivers have and bad ones don't, but everyone goofs up now and then, and that's part of learning.
I hope this helps.
Mark
A lot - just about all - of what you want to do can be accomplished on an IFS 4Runner with 33-35" radial tires and part time lockers (e.g. ARB). You won't break much if you drive smart, which I'm guessing you do. A 4" IFS lift would be plenty, and can be installed by yourself in a weekend. The result is a very streetable, fairly low, rig that can go 99% of places. There are two downsides to IFS, IMHO:
Breakage - You can break a CV now and then, but I've seen guys replace those on a trail without too much of a problem. The 7.5" ring gear can go, too, and might be a reason to stay away from 35's.
That falling feeling - The only thing I didn't like about wheeling an IFS rig was that it spent a lot of time with one wheel off the ground, and it would sometimes "fall down" with authority. That can be a little disconcerting.
That falling feeling - The only thing I didn't like about wheeling an IFS rig was that it spent a lot of time with one wheel off the ground, and it would sometimes "fall down" with authority. That can be a little disconcerting.
I had an 88 truck - not 4Runner - setup this way, and loved it. I always wanted a 4Runner, though, and wanted to do harder things, so I bought my SAS'd 88 4Runner. Here's what I learned in that transition, if it helps you:
A SAS'd 4Runner can be streetable. Part time lockers, good driveline angles and balanced radials are about all it takes. As I mentioned above, I got in mine in San Jose and my first drive was to Denver.
Lower is better. Mine had a 3.5-4" suspension lift and a 2" body lift, and looked like a lot of the SAS'd 4Runners you see. They look cool, but even with spacers and relatively low backspaced wheels, my 4Runner was way less stable in some situations than my IFS pickup. The thing was borderline scary off camber, in places where my truck was not. Plus, the 4Runner didn't climb anywhere near as well as my IFS pickup. Some of this was because it was unnecessarily heavy in the back, with a spare tire and hi-lift mounted on the back bumper, but some was because it was just too tall. I could have removed the body lift, but the truck had been built around it, and it did make things easy to get to. I ended up moving the tire and jack inside the cab, and moved the axle back 5" to make it climb like I wanted. That led to wider axles and 40" bias ply tires, and all of a sudden it's a trailer queen.
Lower is better. Mine had a 3.5-4" suspension lift and a 2" body lift, and looked like a lot of the SAS'd 4Runners you see. They look cool, but even with spacers and relatively low backspaced wheels, my 4Runner was way less stable in some situations than my IFS pickup. The thing was borderline scary off camber, in places where my truck was not. Plus, the 4Runner didn't climb anywhere near as well as my IFS pickup. Some of this was because it was unnecessarily heavy in the back, with a spare tire and hi-lift mounted on the back bumper, but some was because it was just too tall. I could have removed the body lift, but the truck had been built around it, and it did make things easy to get to. I ended up moving the tire and jack inside the cab, and moved the axle back 5" to make it climb like I wanted. That led to wider axles and 40" bias ply tires, and all of a sudden it's a trailer queen.
With regard to your concerns:
#1 - I'm no help here.
#2 - Possible, but not likely. MIG welding isn't hard, so if your friend is good at it, you're fine. Certifications mean nothing.
#3 - Not much help here, either. If we knew each other, I'd offer up my space for a day or weekend, but that's pretty ambitious for a SAS. Though our internet personas are witty and charming, that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to strangle each other in real life.
#4 - Highly unlikely. If you can ride a motorcycle without getting yourself killed, you can figure out wheeling pretty quick. There is a certain touch that good drivers have and bad ones don't, but everyone goofs up now and then, and that's part of learning.
I hope this helps.
Mark
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
From your website, you've got a great beast of a rig! 
I'm happy to have more opinions.
I think 33" is the biggest that can fit (with some beating of wheel well sheet metal?) with the IFS lifts that I've seen (mostly the spacers... otherwise it's $$$$ for long travel A-arms, etc)? I've definitely thought about going this route. It seems more affordable. I'd still want to re-gear, add lockers, and put in a crawlerbox. This is the big question for quite a while for me... do I go down the IFS route or do I go down the SAS route? The front gears and locker won't transfer to a SAS front end (7.5" vs 8").
This is very helpful. I've been planning to do whatever I can to keep the 4runner's center of gravity low to the ground. Certainly I don't want something tippy. I'm also not planning to throw wide 1 ton axles on the truck to make it less tippy. I've seen a few of those up in the mountains and it's great for some trails but many trails I've gone on (and enjoyed) are too narrow for that. Also the whole trailering issue.
Haha with regards to #3, I could be a psychopath with a 4runner, for all you know!
Do I go with the devil I know (beefed up IFS) or the angel(devil in disguise) I don't know too well (SAS swap)?
Some of the guys who have posted previously in this thread have certainly shown me what IFS in various configurations can do. Quite impressive! Back in May I drove with Dan S and his stock 1985 4runner (complete with stock SAS). Comparing between the two, I really did like the SAS more than my IFS. It would be pretty interesting to compare once again now that I have more experience off road.
The big question is really financial in nature... if I go down the IFS path, will I regret it in a few years when/if I want to upgrade to SAS because of how much it costs to change between the two (different gearing, different locker, etc.)?
So far I don't have too much $ invested in the SAS build that I couldn't retrieve by selling the equipment I have purchased so far although I will need to start putting $ down soon.
I'm happy to have more opinions.
I think 33" is the biggest that can fit (with some beating of wheel well sheet metal?) with the IFS lifts that I've seen (mostly the spacers... otherwise it's $$$$ for long travel A-arms, etc)? I've definitely thought about going this route. It seems more affordable. I'd still want to re-gear, add lockers, and put in a crawlerbox. This is the big question for quite a while for me... do I go down the IFS route or do I go down the SAS route? The front gears and locker won't transfer to a SAS front end (7.5" vs 8").
I had an 88 truck - not 4Runner - setup this way, and loved it. I always wanted a 4Runner, though, and wanted to do harder things, so I bought my SAS'd 88 4Runner. Here's what I learned in that transition, if it helps you:
A SAS'd 4Runner can be streetable. Part time lockers, good driveline angles and balanced radials are about all it takes. As I mentioned above, I got in mine in San Jose and my first drive was to Denver.
Lower is better. Mine had a 3.5-4" suspension lift and a 2" body lift, and looked like a lot of the SAS'd 4Runners you see. They look cool, but even with spacers and relatively low backspaced wheels, my 4Runner was way less stable in some situations than my IFS pickup. The thing was borderline scary off camber, in places where my truck was not. Plus, the 4Runner didn't climb anywhere near as well as my IFS pickup. Some of this was because it was unnecessarily heavy in the back, with a spare tire and hi-lift mounted on the back bumper, but some was because it was just too tall. I could have removed the body lift, but the truck had been built around it, and it did make things easy to get to. I ended up moving the tire and jack inside the cab, and moved the axle back 5" to make it climb like I wanted. That led to wider axles and 40" bias ply tires, and all of a sudden it's a trailer queen.
This is very helpful. I've been planning to do whatever I can to keep the 4runner's center of gravity low to the ground. Certainly I don't want something tippy. I'm also not planning to throw wide 1 ton axles on the truck to make it less tippy. I've seen a few of those up in the mountains and it's great for some trails but many trails I've gone on (and enjoyed) are too narrow for that. Also the whole trailering issue.
With regard to your concerns:
#1 - I'm no help here.
#2 - Possible, but not likely. MIG welding isn't hard, so if your friend is good at it, you're fine. Certifications mean nothing.
#3 - Not much help here, either. If we knew each other, I'd offer up my space for a day or weekend, but that's pretty ambitious for a SAS. Though our internet personas are witty and charming, that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to strangle each other in real life.
#4 - Highly unlikely. If you can ride a motorcycle without getting yourself killed, you can figure out wheeling pretty quick. There is a certain touch that good drivers have and bad ones don't, but everyone goofs up now and then, and that's part of learning.
I hope this helps.
Mark
Haha with regards to #3, I could be a psychopath with a 4runner, for all you know!
Do I go with the devil I know (beefed up IFS) or the angel(devil in disguise) I don't know too well (SAS swap)?
Some of the guys who have posted previously in this thread have certainly shown me what IFS in various configurations can do. Quite impressive! Back in May I drove with Dan S and his stock 1985 4runner (complete with stock SAS). Comparing between the two, I really did like the SAS more than my IFS. It would be pretty interesting to compare once again now that I have more experience off road.
The big question is really financial in nature... if I go down the IFS path, will I regret it in a few years when/if I want to upgrade to SAS because of how much it costs to change between the two (different gearing, different locker, etc.)?
So far I don't have too much $ invested in the SAS build that I couldn't retrieve by selling the equipment I have purchased so far although I will need to start putting $ down soon.
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
It looks like Roger Brown has some new IFS goodies... http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/ Bushings that aren't plastic!
Also these are the spacers that I've seen most people talk about regarding IFS: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BallJointSpacer.shtml
Probably also would want this to protect the CV joints a bit? http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/DiffDrop.shtml
I could go crazy with some of the things this guy did: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rotbw.168936/#post-2390766
Hmm.
Also these are the spacers that I've seen most people talk about regarding IFS: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BallJointSpacer.shtml
Probably also would want this to protect the CV joints a bit? http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/DiffDrop.shtml
I could go crazy with some of the things this guy did: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rotbw.168936/#post-2390766
Hmm.
ScaldedDog
Hard Core 4+
FWIW, I used a 4" Skyjacker lift with new rear springs, but that was 16 years ago. When the time comes, you're welcome to my 33" emissions tires to check fit.
BTW, you might find that 4.10s are fine with 33's with dual cases. Mine were a little tall on the road, but not bad, and were fine on the trail after I put 4.70 gears in the case. That's pretty much what you're doing with dual cases.
Mark
BTW, you might find that 4.10s are fine with 33's with dual cases. Mine were a little tall on the road, but not bad, and were fine on the trail after I put 4.70 gears in the case. That's pretty much what you're doing with dual cases.
Mark
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
I might take you up on comparing the 33s on my ride...
DouglasVB
Rising Sun Member
A third option is to find a 1985 4runner and get the best of all worlds. I tried for over a year though and ended up with a 1988... Hmm.
AxleIke
Hard Core 4+
Douglas, don't over think it.
You've been going for a SAS from the get go and it's what you ultimately want. An 85 is not the best of both, it just has an axle already. To run the tires and lift you want, you'd end up doing almost the same amount of work. Plus, you have a truck you already know. That is worth something over an unknown vehicle as far as reliability.
You will have a truck that is vastly more capable than you are...at first. You will learn it and have fun, and eventually you will hit an obstacle on a trail that will either scare the crap outta you and you'll call the truck good enough, or love it so much that you'll build a buggy.
As far as exploring goes, if you do your gears right and have a decent overdrive on the highway, and spend the time to get your caster worked out and get a quietish tire, the SAS truck is going to probably be more comfy on the highway than your current turdsion bar suspension. The nice thing about these trucks is they had all of 95 hp at the crank when they were new. It's not like you are taking something really sporty and trying to jack it up and then go do laps at a track.
My buddy Andy was a total novice. He bought a sas'd 87 runner, and then had arbs installed and a 4.7 case along with longs. Never wheeled a day in his life except as a passenger in my truck. First day out we ran metal masher in Moab, and while I drove widow maker and rock chucker for him (the main obstacles) he did the rest. Next day we ran Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim. I knew he'd be fine as I've run the trails a number of times in my IFS truck. He had a smashed rear light and corner in the rear quarter and a ding in the passenger front fender but he did just fine and came out with a bunch of confidence and
Learned a lot. Though, sadly he also learned he couldn't hack a leaf spring suspension with his back and hip, so he sold it.
Point is, you will be able to do all the things you want to do and more in the SAS truck. I don't want to make you second guess it and miss your opportunity to get things done this winter.
In the end it's your truck and you gotta be happy with what you do. As long as you like it, that's all that matters!
Cheers!!
You've been going for a SAS from the get go and it's what you ultimately want. An 85 is not the best of both, it just has an axle already. To run the tires and lift you want, you'd end up doing almost the same amount of work. Plus, you have a truck you already know. That is worth something over an unknown vehicle as far as reliability.
You will have a truck that is vastly more capable than you are...at first. You will learn it and have fun, and eventually you will hit an obstacle on a trail that will either scare the crap outta you and you'll call the truck good enough, or love it so much that you'll build a buggy.
As far as exploring goes, if you do your gears right and have a decent overdrive on the highway, and spend the time to get your caster worked out and get a quietish tire, the SAS truck is going to probably be more comfy on the highway than your current turdsion bar suspension. The nice thing about these trucks is they had all of 95 hp at the crank when they were new. It's not like you are taking something really sporty and trying to jack it up and then go do laps at a track.
My buddy Andy was a total novice. He bought a sas'd 87 runner, and then had arbs installed and a 4.7 case along with longs. Never wheeled a day in his life except as a passenger in my truck. First day out we ran metal masher in Moab, and while I drove widow maker and rock chucker for him (the main obstacles) he did the rest. Next day we ran Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim. I knew he'd be fine as I've run the trails a number of times in my IFS truck. He had a smashed rear light and corner in the rear quarter and a ding in the passenger front fender but he did just fine and came out with a bunch of confidence and
Learned a lot. Though, sadly he also learned he couldn't hack a leaf spring suspension with his back and hip, so he sold it.
Point is, you will be able to do all the things you want to do and more in the SAS truck. I don't want to make you second guess it and miss your opportunity to get things done this winter.
In the end it's your truck and you gotta be happy with what you do. As long as you like it, that's all that matters!
Cheers!!
AxleIke
Hard Core 4+
See my last post but there are a bunch of things that you don't want to do with the IFS you have. If you end up not doing a SAS I can give you an entire dissertation on things that don't work with these front ends and hopefully save you time, money, and hassle. But not to worry unless you really decide not to SAS.